J. L. Ackrill – författare

Discusses Aristotle's views on change, natural science, the mind, logic, philosophical method, metaphysics, and ethics, and suggests why the Greek philosopher still provokes controversy.

Books V and VI of Aristotle's Politics constitute a manual on practical politics. In the fifth book Aristotle examines the causes of faction and constitutional change and suggests remedies for political instability. In the sixth book he offers practical advice to the statesman who wishes to establish, preserve, or reform a democracy or an oligarchy. He discusses many political issues, theoretical and practical, which are still widely debated today--revolution and reform, democracy and tyranny, freedom and equality. David Keyt presents a clear and accurate new translation of these books, together with a commentary which, though primarily philosophical, also supplies a key to Aristotle's many historical references. It is intended to guide readers towards a proper understanding of this classic text in the history of political thought, and does not assumes knowledge of Greek or of ancient history and politics.

J. L. Ackrill's work on Plato and Aristotle has had a considerable influence upon ancient philosophical studies in the late twentieth century. In his writings the rigour and clarity of contemporary analytic philosophy are brought to bear upon ancient thought; in many cases he has provided the first analytic treatment of a key issue. Gathered now in this volume are the best of Ackrill's essays on the two greatest philosophers of antiquity. With philosophical acuity and philological expertise he examines a wide range of texts and topics--from ethics and logic to epistemology and metaphysics--which continue to be in the focus of debate.

The books translated in this volume are fourth, fifth, and sixth in the traditional ordering of Aristotle's Metaphysics. The nature and scope of metaphysics are discussed in gamma and epsilon. A subtle examination of the principles of non-contradiction and excluded middle occupies the latter part of gamma. Delta is in the form of a philosophical lexicon. All three books contain important material on being, substance, `accident', unity, truth, cause, and other such concepts. The translation is very close to the Greek, as an aid to students who cannot check the English version against the original. It is followed by an interpretative and critical commentary. For this new edition Mr Kirwan has added a substantial section of further comment on several central issues, and considerably expanded the bibliography.

The Posterior Analytics contains some of Aristotle's most influential thoughts in logic, epistemology, metaphysics, and the philosophy of science. The first book expounds and develops the notions of a demonstrative argument and of a formal, axiomatized science; the second discusses a cluster of problems raised by the axioms or principles of such a science, and investigates in particular the theory of definition. For the second edition of this volume, the translation has been completely rewritten; and the commentary, which is done with the needs of philosophical readers in mind, has been thoroughly revised in the light of the scholarship of the last twenty years. There is an additional glossary and the bibliography has been extended.

In a single volume intended for philosophy students of all levels as well as their teachers, this reader provides modern, accurate translations of the texts necessary for a careful study of most aspects of Aristotle's philosophy. Professor Ackrill has drawn on his broad experience of teaching graduate classes in selecting the texts, and his choice reflects issues of current philosophical interest as well as the perennial themes. Only recent translations which achieve a high level of accuracy have been chosen: the aim is to place the reader without Greek, as nearly as possible, in the position of a reader of Greek. As an aid to study, a valuable guide to the key topics covered is also suppied, giving references to works or passages contained in the reader, an indication of their interrelation, and a currnet bibliography.